---

---

As she was about to respond back to Sloane she watched once again as Sloane and Toby didn`t get along. As embarrassing as it is sometimes Sloane did have a point though. At some point, unless you were new, you`ve seen a majority of the group naked in some way. Some were more open with it, she however wasn`t as confident. It was her childhood that she could blame for that one. The confidence issue was something she still couldn`t quite get around. A lot of them did have reason to be so confident however, they weren`t exactly hard on the eyes. "You do have a very valid point"

Reaching to the pastries she took a piece for herself. "Thank you Daniel," Sky said to him with an upbeat attitude before turning back to Sloane. "I`m sorry that it took so long to get back here, it must be a real drag sometimes." She replied and ate a spoonful of her soup before continuing. "I`m alright, the rehab clinic had a client today that was rather determined to not have treatment. He tried to break the glass in the lobby and when he couldn`t he tried to use force on all of us." She said like it was a normal every day occurrence. The rehab clinic she worked at could be rather dangerous at times. It was money though and she could afford a place of her own. It helped she had personal experience in the field personally.

Seeing the people that came in her powers sometimes seemed to become hyper sensitive. It was hard to not use them at times. It did make her feel guilty because even though she would find out ways to help them, she also gave them to paranoia to worry about. Even if it was only a minor, temporary affect; she couldn`t help but feel guilty about it. Some people came in completely overturned by the addiction they possessed. It was her nature to want to help them get through it.

---

---

"You're right there, Cara." Angel said in reply to her last comment. "Although I'm all for a dinner with my family, too much nudity will make me think of Game of Thrones... wherein dinner parties rarely end well." She chuckled, then paused. "Also, partial spoiler alert, I guess." She added in afterthought.

However, things took a far more interesting turn as she realized Daniel had brought cakes from the cafe he worked at. She enjoyed that café, and spent a lot of her time there. It wasn't too large or too small, and the food there was awesome.

"Oh sweet Zeus, and the milkshakes. The freakin' milkshakes made from heaven itself." Mouth watering at the mere prospect of this, she took one of the chocolate cakes from the box with a sweet smile directed at Daniel.

As she overheard Tobias' and Sloane's comments, she chuckled slightly, looking towards her dark skinned comrade.

"Speak for yourself, Sloane. This baby of the group has only had the fortune of seeing one of you naked - just now." Grinning at Sloane, she popped a bit of the cake into her mouth, munching thoughtfully. "As for impressiveness - I think there's plenty of butts in the room that definitely tick that box."

Sloane decided to pick on him of course. It was to be expected after all, seeing as she hated his guts and he hated hers. "Yeah sure, but there's a thing called human decency. Not that you're decent at all anyway, so I wouldn't expect you to understand." Yes, he had probably already seen most of the group naked already, but by no means did that mean Tobias wanted to see the naked all the time. It wasn't like he was some teenage boy high on hormones, desperate for any glance of the female body. "I honestly could care less if you want to be a rebel and walk around naked."

Tobias wished that would be the end of the conversation, but seeing how Angel and Skylar were joining the conversation, he doubted it. Sloane wasn't the type to just let these things go. It was another reason why Tobias swore one of these days he'd lose his temper and start beating the living shit out of her. Granted, had he met the girl 3-4 years back, Tobias probably would have just swung at her during their first encounter.

Yes, Tobias's constant backtalk wasn't helping much with the situation, but he had to release the anger somehow, seeing how flipping the table over and then losing his shit wasn't much of an option.

---

---

Dang, Nina
Robert had been watching her transform and had kept watching her as she walked away. When she turned around and spoke to him, he felt something warm shoot up in his chest and his face. Was she flirting with him? Or was this just Nina? He laughed it off. "I can see that." He said to the door opening through which Nina had just dissapeared.
The girl definitely stirred up the group, with all the looks and comments that followed her. Listening to both Toby and sloane giving their opinions on this matter, he found that he actually agreed with Sloane. "hear hear." He added to her statement as he raised his rumflask, before taking a sip.

He turned back to Eddie who had just told him about his day. "You smooth motherfucker, by the way." He said with a grin as he softly punched his friend on the shoulder. "I really hope she will fall for the spark thing" Rob hold out his flask in an offer for him to have a sip a well. It was also nice to hear that the timid Eddie was secretly tormenting his teacher. Definitely progress.

The cakes that Daniël had brought were fantastic. Sugary goodness. Being with his 'family' like this, made him forget his crappy workdays. What's there to want more than being with friends to eat and drink, with the occasional naked beauty. Well and ofcourse a mission from the dark lord Grimbledore.
Speaking of the devil, the man was coming back from his station at the door, where he had been greeting everyone. He sat down at the head of the table and started eating his soup, and mumbling something about Nick being late.
Robert guessed this would mean it wouldn't take long before they would get to the news or activity of the evening. Which was a shame, because after the long day, he felt a lot for just laying around by the fire place in his fox form. He hoped they didn't have to go outside. That shrine, did it even do anything?

Finally wedging the door open with some difficulty, pushing it open further with the bottom of his shoe, Nick scrambled inside a number of minutes after Nina left for the other room. Loose laughter came out of him as gave Grimbold a lazy salute, before pulling off his jacket off his shoulders and crossing to find a free spot on the floor, absently fixing his shirt as he did so…carrying the fuzzy bunny on his other arm? The bunny looked both confused and less than amused. Nick was fine with this. He pet it on the head.

Opening his mouth as he pointed a finger to the small animal on his arm, whose nose twitched at the smell of food, food the teen had largely ignored that in his own excitement…eyes darting around a second, Nick snapped his mouth shut, his brows raising high at the topic of discussion. There was some quiet snickering before more amused laughter.

While the teen liked to think he was mature enough to hang with people a few years older than himself, that he might have gotten used to the presence of the rest of them, somehow it still amused him greatly, the idea of one of them running around scrambling for clothing. Then again, some of them were rather shameless about their nudity, and Nick wasn’t exactly an exception to this either.

If someone told he’d be hanging out with an older, magical, semi-nudist colony people…might’ve joined the club sooner. Hah.

Letting his tongue hang out the side of his mouth as he directed his attention to a box, reaching for a cake to hold up for the bunny's inspection, giving the nearest person to his right a wink and a grin, ”Whose butt? Who was naked? You guys weren’t…doing something weird before I came in here, right?” Waggling his eyebrows in good fun, Nick really didn’t mean anything by what he said. For the most part, he did consider most of them family…that’s why it was kind of getting fucking weird with some of them, but ah, he wasn’t going to judge.

Eddie nodded in appreciation and took a sip from Robert's flask. It made him cough a little, but he mostly managed it. It was a fair bit stronger than what he usually drank (water). "Yeah, I hope so too." he replied. The room was dying down from Nina's little exposé. Eddie didn't particularly like Nina, but damn...

Eddie was relieved when Nick arrived. And confused when he saw the bunny. "Nina was in her cat form when we got here. Then she decided to give everyone something to talk about, apparently" Eddie explained in response Nick's inquiry. "Anyway, you should try the soup. It's vegetable, so your little friend might like some." Eddie entertained the thought of it being a new member of the group, but that was very unlikely.

Eddie sat back with a pastry in his hand, nodding his appreciation to Daniel. As he ate, he felt content with the atmosphere of the room. He got to see all his friends in one place, and even the not-so-friends were leaving him alone. He looked to Grimbold, who had brought them all together. It was nice, and Eddie was ready for whatever mission Grimbold had in store for them.

---

"Well, at least we don't have any Lannisters around." A pause. "Or do we?" Cara grinned at Angel, jokingly hinting at her being a Lannister. Sometimes the girl could get annoying, but at least she wasn't as annoying as a certain someone from the series.

Giving Daniel an inviting smile, Cara reached over the table to grab the baked goodie. "Thanks," nodding in thanks, she sat back down as she began munching on the free cake. It wasn't often that Cara would treat herself to cakes and sweets, unless they were chocolate, however the café in town had baked goods to die for. Or at least some of them were, anyway.

Sitting between Sloane and Toby was somewhat ruining the zen moment in the cabin. Of course they had to bicker about decency even though everyone has pretty much seen each other naked a handful of times (giving quite the eyeful too, going by how Terry was previously enjoying the view). Dusting her hands of any extra cake crumbs, the girl commented, "Now now, children, momma loves you all only if you let her eat."

"Oh look, Draco's here." Cara nodded at Nick, still grinning as he entered the cabin and arrived at the table, the entire family - minus Nina, since she was still getting dressed after her change from a cat -finally surrounding the table.

---

---

Grimbold looked around the room. He enjoyed the energy that the youngsters had. the jokes, the sneers, the flirtations. It reminded him of his own youth. The time before he grew old and weary, and his heart heavy. He was in this business for a very long time now. Too long. He thought of the others that he had roamed the forests with. The group of which he was the only one left now.

Once he saw that everybody finished eating, he loudly cleared his throat and sat up straight. With his hands he held on to the corners of the table. "Boys! Girls! I want to welcome you again tonight on our full moon meeting. I hope you enjoyed the soup and tried the cakes that Daniel was so kind to bring." His deep voice bellowed through the room.
He paused and made sure everybody was paying attention.
"I'm also glad to see the newest member of our family is fitting right in. I expect everybody to make her feel at home. We look after each other."
From Angel, he shifted his attention to Nick who had just entered. He just looked at the boy in silence for a second, as if to ask why he was late, and what he was planning with the rabbit. But he didn't say anything about it. Then continued his speech to the group.
"We'll be visiting the shrine tonight. But before we do, I'm pretty sure you're all curious to hear what our next task is." He cleared his throat again.
"For each of you, I have a person that needs to be brought bad luck. Whatever you do to him or her is up to you, but they need to stay in their house next saturday. They're not supposed to go out. You could make them feel bad or scared, you could lock them in. Have them break their legs. It's up to you. But they can't leave the house coming saturday."
Grimbold looked around the room to make sure everybody understood what he was saying.
"You can help each other. Ask others for help if you need it.
These are your targets..." Grimbold started calling the names of everybody in the group. After every name, there was the name of their target. Some were familiar. Some weren't.
"Oh, and one more thing" Grimbold added after he had finished the list. "Keep your saturday evening free. You might get a phonecall with a request. Accept the offer."

He gave them some time to take it in.
With a much softer voice he ended: finish your soup, if you still need to. Sorry Nina, but we're changing again. Tonight we're learning. We'll be heading out in ten minutes.”

---

---

Terry was taken aback by the sound of Daniel's voice. "I... whatever..." she muttered back, unable to come up with a decent excuse or defense. Her face quickly returned to its normal color and she pretended as if nothing had happened.

Luckily for her, everyone had apparently arrived and Grimbold was starting the meeting officially. She waited to hear what her mission was. Apparently they were trying to keep people inside their homes on Saturday. Another random task that somehow was a part of something bigger. The person she was assigned to was Ms. Victoria Young, a girl in her English class. She had nothing against the poor girl, she rarely had anything against her victims, but it was a mission. Now, how was she going to keep her inside? She would prefer to do it without hurting anyone but if it came to it, she wouldn't hesitate.

When Grimbold announced that they were going outside to "learn", Terry frowned. "Why did I ever agree to this?" she wondered, feeling exasperated. There were other ways she could have been spending her Monday night, like work on that 20 page research paper due next week. "Well, no use complaining now."

She went into the other room and decided to remove her clothes there before changing into her animal form. Unlike Nina, she wasn't going to show off her body to the entire group. After taking off her clothes, she was already starting to shiver. She quickly transformed into a raven so she didn't have to deal with the cold anymore. Even though it felt weird the first few times she has done it, she was quite used to transforming now. It was like putting on a sweater or something. She flew out the window and perched out on the branch of a nearby tree. She waited for the rest of the group to come out as well and wondered what Grimbold had in store for them.

---

---

As everyone reached for the box of cakes and pastries that he had so kindly "borrowed" from the Cafe, Daniel nodded his acknowledgement to each member of the group in turn as they either verbally thanked him or otherwise made some gesture of thanks in his direction. Even the simple act of thanking him brought a warm feeling to his chest. It gave him that sense of belonging that he had longed for all his life. Even though he didn't interact much with the group, he felt more at home here, in this cabin in the woods, with these people he called family, than he ever has growing up in France. Daniel glanced towards the door as Nick finally made his appearance. Without so much as a reason for his tardiness, Nick simply plopped down on the floor. The familiar pang of jealously rose up in Daniel. To be so carefree must be a blessing. However, Daniel quickly quelled his emotions, merely glad that everyone was finally here.

Finishing the bread roll in his hand, Daniel's attention was captured once more as Grimbold stood and made his announcement. Simultaneously excited and anxious to hear what was in store for them, Daniel held onto every word that left the man's mouth. A wicked smirk graced Daniel's features, a rare expression for the young man to show. His target was none other than Monsieur Brian Cobald, the manager of the Castle Street Cafe and the source of Daniel's frustration while at work. The irony was almost laughable. Ready to finally stretch his wings, Daniel stood up from the table and left the cabin. Deciding to leave the privacy of the spare room for the girls, he walked around back behind the cabin to his usual shadowed alcove nestled between two large oak trees. Daniel quickly stripped and transformed. Lean muscled arms gave way to long leathery black wings while smooth white skin was covered in course fur. Smell and hearing became amplified to their maximum potential while vision, not so much. He didn't realize it until he transformed for the first time that there was a very literal meaning behind being "as blind as a bat". But the freedom of being able to fly was more than he could ever ask for. Daniel the Bat gave his wings one good stretch before taking flight, swooping back around to the front of the cabin, and hanging upside down from a branch near the door. He noticed a raven on a branch not too far from his own tree and figured Teryn must have not wasted any time in transforming either. If he could smile right now he would. They were both impatient people it seemed.

---

---

Once she heard Sloane`s response Grimbold called their attention and she looked over at the older man. She had a great deal of respect for him. Even if their missions were somewhat weird sometimes, they always had a reason behind them. There wasn`t much room to argue when they had chosen this path themselves. It was exactly a thing you could walk away from once you started it. He started to speak about their mission assignment, eagerly she listened to they would be doing. Apparently they were going to be given someone they had to keep indoors on Saturday. The next instructions that they themselves were to be free on Saturday as well. For her this was manageable but she didn`t know about the others who had careers to worry about. It`d probably be more difficult to move things around. Once again however, they had picked this life, there wasn`t any backing out.

The person she was assigned was a man named Henry Johnson. At the present moment she didn`t know who this man was or how she was going to know who he was. There would be many ways for her to meet him, the question of who he was, was kind of intimidating however. This was a small town, everyone knew mostly everyone, or at least who they were. This guy would either be a new resident or not a very known one. "I get Mr.John Doe, let`s see where this leads I guess. I do know that paranoia will be what keeps him out of the public."



Standing up she walked into the spare room once Terry had left as a raven and closed the door. She wasn`t the kind of girl to shift butt naked in front of a group of people. At this point she really should be used to it. This sadly wasn`t the case. Sky walked over to the window in the room and opened it enough for her to be able to get through. Taking off her clothes she put them in a pile on top of the dresser next to a clothing rack and shifted into the barn owl she called her other form. Taking a moment to shake out her feathers she flapped up and flew out of the room through the window.

The feeling of being able to fly wasn`t something she`d ever be able to get used too. It felt amazing to have such control over something that was so hard to do as a human. The small frame of her animal self also proved to make flying even easier for her. It was one out of the many things that made her life here feel so much better than the life that she put behind her. The person she was before she came here in her opinion was dead, and she was more than overjoyed by it.

Lame... Ofcourse they were going out. Well at least he could be Fox! His favorite alter ego. And derping as animals was always fun. The target he was assigned to was a problem though. He knew her name as she visited the library occasionally. His power was straightwforward enough to actually help her sprain an ankle. But she seemed like an innocent girl. She didn't deserve that. He had to find another way. But that was for later to worry about.
Robert stood up and stretched his arms up and out while yawning. After a last sip of rum, he put his flask on the table and started transforming. No need to change in secret somewhere. His clothes would pretty much fall off of him when he shrunk to fox form.
Though the entire body transforming was an unsettling feeling, the weirdest part was how the skull changed form. The protruding of the jaw and nose into a snout. Rob was pretty sure he could hear a grinding sound as the parietal and frontal bone in his skull flattened. The extension of the ears and the growing of the tail and fur were a more comfortable part of the transformation. He liked having a tail a lot. Within seconds the boy had seemingly dissapeared, only leaving behind the things he was wearing, as they fell to the ground.

And there was that.
The Fantastic mister fox wiggled around to find it's way out of the pile of clothes that he was in. His snout found an exit through the neck of his sweater. The struggle was short and easy, and within seconds he had escaped his cotton cage.
Smells were the first thing that came to him. everything was so strong. Plus the sounds. He could hear a mouse walking outside the cabin. And some bird flapping it's wings, probably Terry or Sky.
He jumped on the table to oversee how the rest was doing with their transformations. Then he rolled around a few times. And hugged his own tail. Being an animal had something liberating. You could act like one.

"Edward Hansen, Emily O'Reilly" Eddie's face turned beet red at the mention of his college crush's name after his own. He had to figure out a way to keep her at her house on Saturday? This mission might be difficult. Maybe Robert can give me an idea? He's good at that. Or maybe I could ask Cara or Sky for advice. They're girls, they'll probably know what would keep them in on a Saturday. Oh well, at least we have almost a week.

Eddie couldn't help but smile though, at the mention of learning something from Grimbold. The curiosity was almost overwhelming, and Grimbold was such a mysterious old man. We'll know soon enough.

Eddie's thoughts continued to race as he went outside, to "his spot", around the corner from the door. He moved autonomously, as his mind was busy. Although everyone had seen pretty much everyone naked, he still didn't want undress in front of anyone if there was no need or urgency. He also couldn't just transform and walk out of the clothes, like some of the others. A disadvantage of picking a larger animal. He had tried once, but his shirt and underwear were especially impossible to remove as a dog, and even more awkward when he changed back. He moved a flat rock he kept for just such an occasion, leaned against the cabin over another rock. His clothes should be safe there.

Before long he ventured back around the corner, and sat at the door, transformed into a dog. Eddie had always had a deep love for dogs, but never had the chance to keep one. And so when he met with Grimbold the first time, he knew immediately what form he wanted. A German Shepherd, like one he used to see at the pet store as a child.

As Eddie thought about his first meeting with Grimbold, his tail began to wag absentmindedly. When he remembered that they were going to get a new lesson from Grimbold, it doubled it's pace.

---

---

By the time Nick had entered with his friend - at the sight of the fluffy rabbit, naturally Angel's mind went into hyperdrive over how gosh darn cute it was - she and most of the others had finished up their meal. As Grimbold began talking, she finished off the rest of her cake, listening carefully.

On her first meeting last month, naturally she'd been skittish. Angel only turned the once before that meeting, and was so damned nervous changing with the others. The Shrine was a bit disconcerting too, but she just told herself to think about the shrines in Skyrim. They were totally normal in the Elder Scrolls Universe! I mean, they usually had necromancers and shit nearby too, but whatever... magic is magic.

This second time was a lot easier - not only did she know more of what to do, but she was more at home with the others. Friends with most of them at that - as Grimbold had mentioned, they looked after her pretty well.

However, last time, she hadn't been told to use her powers on another human - this human happened to be one Garrett Russell. She knew who he was - his older brother, Miguel, sat next to her in most of her Psychology lectures, and the pair were even friends. From her short time in Tallshade, she'd quickly found out Garrett had quite the reputation for himself; the 17 year old, still being in High School, was a notorious party goer and stereotypical jock. The few times she'd visited the Garrett house, either for parties or study sessions, Garrett had flirted quite nonchalantly with her, much to his brother's ire. What he lacked severely in brains the kid made up for in looks, height and muscle, so any arguments with his distinctly smaller and nerdier older brother didn't last very long.

Safe to say Angel wasn't too impressed by him, despite his efforts.

As for her job on keeping him indoors... that would be a tricky one. Being an ardent party goer and social butterfly, it was highly likely he'd be doing something Saturday night. Was there a High School football game on? He was on the team... hmm. It would either be that or some party. A guy like Garrett didn't stay in on the weekend.

Deciding to think on it later - and perhaps getting some help from a more experienced member of the group - Angel stood up with the others as Grimbold announced their plans for the night: Shrine Time with the Animal Fun-Time group. Huzzah.

Following Skye's departure from the back room - in the form of a gorgeous black owl - Angel entered, stripping her clothes quickly in case somebody else wanted some privacy. Underneath her fairly dark rock attire, Angel chuckled as she looked at her very not-rock underwear: White briefs and bra with multi-coloured paw prints all over them. Nice.

Taking them off too and folding them with the rest of her clothes, Angel shivered as she began to change. Suddenly, her head was elongating into a snout; teeth and nails elongating and sharpening into claws and fangs; and ebony fur sprouting all over her body. Eyes now taking on a pale golden glow, Angel looked down at her paws.

"Woo! Change successful! Now to try and walk straight and avoid eating dirt..." She thought to herself, then carefully walking to the door, scraping at it until it swung open. Barking lightly as she saw the others, Angel picked up her pace, trotting in a somewhat straight line outside.

Rather than going straight to the Shrine, she sat outdoors, gazing at the moon while she waited for Cara... who could potentially want a lift in her snake form.

"Girl better not choke me this time..."

---

"Shit, I don't know how you deal with that," Sloane had sympathized to Sky, scowling a bit. The young woman was so reserved and quiet; Sloane couldn't imagine her handling something willing to bring the building down to avoid treatment. Even though she cared for Sky, she still wasn't the type to worry, and she offered a helpless shrug. The worst she had to deal with were cheapskates and drunk frat boys that can't sit still, and she said as much as Nick was coming. "We'll tell you when you're older," she had teased, throwing a wink in his direction. It was soon after that she finished her soup and Grimbold spoke up.

At the mention of their newest member, Sloane had glanced over at Angel; new, but he was right, fitting right into the banter and atmosphere. She even offered a smile in agreement (though it was quickly gone). Then the mentor got down to business: Sloane didn't recognize the name. So not a local, she thought, green eyes narrowing as her next thoughts jumped to the university. And the artist was just fine with leaving her Saturday open; she enjoyed quiet nights at home, especially after being gone all week. Once Grimbold was done speaking, she popped another pastry into her mouth as she stood up.

She disappeared into another room, her shirt coming up and over head before she pushed the door almost closed (hooves couldn't open a door very well after all). Then a moment later, the doe emerged from the bathroom and Sloane's clothes were left behind. The deer was silent, watching the others with big dark eyes, before slowly trotting to the exit.

---

A heavy sigh escaped Cara's lips, dropping her spoon beside the bowl she was once having soup from. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy changing into a snake and hanging out with the group of misfits in their animal form, it's just the fact that it had been a year since she had gotten her powers yet she still couldn't adjust to the no-limb situation. Cara eyed Angel as she entered the room to change into her coyote form. At least the newbie was lucky enough to have four legs instead of none. She waited for Angel to leave the room, deciding to take the moment to think about who her target was.

Janet Garrison. The name sounded familiar, like a prickling at the back of her mind, but she wasn't very sure where she heard it. Cara mentally flicked through a list of people from her class, crossing out each name and face as she tried narrowing down on the familar Miss Garrison.

'Ah, now I remember...'

Janet was one of the many girls hidden away at the back of the lecture hall, the shy and quiet type. Possibly smart too, Cara guessed. She didn't know much about the shy classmate, other than her age - twenty one - and which dorm she lived in. It was possible for Cara to use her usual scare tactics on the girl, maybe amped up a bit just to ensure she wouldn't leave her room on Saturday. Of course, Cara didn't want to completely traumatise the girl, but there was nothing she could do about it. A job was a job.

Cara got up slowly as she saw Sloane coming from the direction of the room, taking it as her cue to get ready. Leaving the door partially open behind her, Cara immediately started on her clothes. One by one, articles of clothing would drop to the ground, before a naked Cara would pick it back up and make sure to fold them carefully, the coldness of the room raising goosebumps on her bare flesh. She was always peculiar about her clothes, wanting everything to be pristine and perfect.

You could even say she was a bit of a control freak when it came to looking her best.

Not that she would ever admit it out loud.

Next, Cara readied herself for her change, sitting down with her legs pressed together and her arms against her sides. It was much easier and less painful for her to do so, as the scales slowly enveloped her skin and merged her limbs to her body. Cara's height shrunk even further and her eyes changing from the brown hue to an obsidian black, her eyelids disappearing completely until she finally took on the appearance of a Mexican Black Kingsnake.

Now was the hard part. Cara had left just enough of a gap for her to slither past, but she had to make sure she wouldn't make a fool out of herself by getting tangled into her own body while doing so. Slowly, but surely, Cara slid across the ground and towards the others, letting them know the room was empty before leaving through the front door, finding Angel waiting outside.

Cara would've smiled if she could, but she simply hissed letting the coyote know of her presence before she climbed - for the lack of a better word - up Angel's body and looped herself around her neck, securing herself to the coyote's body. It was a bit of a dangerous move, but Cara would try not to strangle the newbie. Well, as long as she didn't trip over her paws and send Cara flying into the air.

---

Finally, Grimbold spoke up, telling them of the task he had for them. They were to keep someone inside their house next Saturday, either physically or mentally. And something about a call, perhaps Grimbold would check on them that evening. Tobias frowned as he wondered how he would keep his target inside his house. His power was predicative in nature, unlike most of the group, who had something that was more active in nature. His target didn't really help matters either, it was his landlord of all people. Tobias doubted his animal form, the raccoon could do much with the task Grimbold assigned him.

Tobias was sure he'd have to do something physical to keep his landlord inside. Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to something drastic, but he had a week to figure it out. In the meantime, he should probably change into his animal. "I always hated this part..." The transformation wasn't painful, but it felt strange. Yes, Tobias had changed before, but it never became normal to him. The whole losing all your clothes thing was very inconvenient, but he supposed even magic had it's limits.

Now a raccoon, Tobias slowly backed out of what was his shirt. He'd learned from his first few attempts that moving forward just usually led to his head getting stuck on his shirt, and Tobias would be running around with it stuck until he transformed back. Not like it obscured his vision, but it would ruin his t-shirt and people's attention would be drawn to him. Tobias then began his way to the shrine, not wishing to waste anymore time.

Slightly uphill, a silhouette appeared in front of the big full moon that shone behind it.
A wolf, with thick grey fur, was waiting for the other animals to follow him. Once they were all together, he led them up the mountain, over a hidden path, through the forest.

The Shrine was waiting for them. A circle of large hewn stones, with a stone that could resemble an altar in the middle. At the side of the circle, there were some other stone structures, leaning against the mountainside. Altogether it could remind one of an ancient druidic build. A small sister of stonehenge perhaps. But much less known ofcourse. It was highly likely nobody else but Grimbold and the critter family knew about this place.
The wolf made a circling movement with his head, indicating the others to form a circle within the circle of stones.

On the ground around the altar, some lines and circles had been drawn in the earth. Other lines were made up of different kinds of powders. One black, white, oker.

As the wolf slowly walked towards the altar, he started changing. The fur transformed into a grey cloak. Once Grimbold arrived at the center of the circle, he was completely in human form again.
On the altar, a swan had been waiting. Not making a sound, not startled by all the movements around her. She just lay there, seeming to be at total peace, while she looked around at the other critters.

Grimbold wasn't happy with what he was about to do. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. But he did what he had to do. And his pupils needed to learn, because they had a long road ahead of them. While he was getting old.
He took his dagger out and held it up with both hands, blade pointing downwards at the swan.

"Opako senar, hambra manu, sepa kharta latangra ghudul"

With one swift strike, Grimbold brought the blade down. It struck the swan on her back, right between her wings. Only faintly, you could hear the swan gasping for air one last time, before she lost strength in her neck, and her head fell onto the altar.
An eerie silence struck the forest for a few seconds. No birds, no insects. No sounds. Nothing.
Then vaguely, a black smoke started coming from the swan. As if the entire beasts body was evaporating. The feathers melted into a heavy black smoke that was almost liquid. And eventually, the entire swan dissapeared. Thick black smoke rolled over the side of the altar and onto the ground, from where the swan had just dissapeard. The smoke spread across the forest floor, before slowly evaporating into nothingness. On the altar only the skeleton of the swan remained.

Grimbold muttered some more words in an unknown language, as if he was paying his respect to the dead creature's body. Then he started collecting the bones in a bag, leaving the skull for last.

He looked around the circle.
“That was all for today”

He nodded in the direction of the cabin, the sign to head back.

---

---

After that Grimbold had changed into wolf from once again, and they all went back to the cabin. He didn't care to explain what just had happened, or even why it had. Once people had dressed themselves again, they started leaving. Heading home probably. Grimbold stood at the door, the same he had when they had entered. He greeted everyone, and watched them leave.

---

---

The next day, the sun rose above the horizon, meeting a cloudless blue sky. This time of the year, morning did allow the sun to shine her light on tallshade for a few hours, before the sun dissapeared behind the mountain.

---

---

"..ate now to say sorry? -sorry. Cause I'm missing more then just your bo.. SLAM!
Robert smacked his radio alarmclock. Though he had initially thought that waking up to music was better than to wake up to an annoying and repetetive beeping, he was starting to have some doubts. While rubbing the sleep out of his face, he walked to the kitchen in his underwear to make himself some oatmeal. While the water was boiling, he looked in the mirror. A leaf was still stuck in his messy hair. With his fingers he combed his hair a bit, so that he would at least look good enough to go to work today. Not that he was planning to put much more effort into that. Well, getting dressed perhaps.

fifteen minutes later, Robert was walking towards the library, enjoying the only sunlight that would be touching his skin today. This sure was a good town for lightsensitive gingers. Though the work was not going to be very interesting, there was an interesting adventure waiting for him in the form of Grimbolds mission. In the form of Rachel Brooks, the girl that was going to have a bad time this week. It was the first time that Robert felt somewhat hesitant about Grimbold's orders. He would do it ofcourse. But she seemed so innocent. The sigh he let out, was visible as a small cloud that escaped his mouth, due to the cold.
Rob took his smartphone out of his pocket.



After hitting send, Robert looked up again to see where he was going. Just in time to evade a lamp post. That would've been ironic.

When he reached his destination, he saw his boss just opening the door. "Morning Martha"
He was totally ready for another extremely uneventful day. Yay, my life.

Daniel woke up with a groan. He didn't sleep much last night and the sleep he did manage to get was restless. Sitting up in bed, he glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. The bright green numbers that read 7:34am seemed to glare at him in the darkness of the room. Seeing as he probably wasn't going to get anymore sleep today, Daniel forced himself out of bed and started his usual morning routine. Thinking back on the night before was useless as it didn't make much sense to him then so why would it now? Grimbold had told them they would be learning something new at the Shrine but Daniel had yet to figure out exactly what that was. After he had dressed and cleaned himself up, he made his way to the kitchenette and prepared himself a bagel with cream cheese. Glancing at the clock again told him it was now 8:02am. He didn't have to be at work until 9 today but figured he could show up a little early. He had nothing better to do anyway. Maybe he could catch his manager before everyone else showed up for their shift. He did have a mission after all. Grabbing his jacket, Daniel headed out the door, deciding to finish his bagel on the go.

As he reached the Castle Street Cafe, a smile broke out as Daniel noticed that Brian was indeed already there. For a brief moment, a thought passed through Daniel's mind that he shouldn't be as happy as he was that his manager was going to be the target of his powers. Grimbold was sure to have a greater purpose for this mission than just some petty revenge but Daniel quickly dismissed the thought. He could at least have some fun, right? The little bell above the door signaling his arrival, Daniel walked to the employee break room to put his jacket in his locker and grab his apron before returning to the front. He found Brian near the register looking over the inventory checklist from last night. Looking up as he noticed Daniel's presence, Brian gave him a quick glance before returning his attention to the clipboard in his hand. It was brief but it was all the time Daniel needed to notice the discoloration around Brian's left eye. Releasing a low whistle, Daniel made himself give off the impression of concern. "That's some shiner you got there, Brian. Rough night?" Grabbing his head, Brian winced and grunted out, "Yeah, some jackwagon decided he had something to prove after drinking too much. And to top it off, I now have this damn headache..." Concealing his enjoyment of the situation, Daniel merely replied with, "Too bad. Next time maybe you should help with inventory instead of partying with 'jackwagons'." Brian's eyes widened slightly as he realized he had been caught in his lie but Daniel pretended he hadn't noticed as he turned around to busy himself with the display cases as the first few customers started to walk in.